Quezi

Photo of an Acer Aspire One, a popular model of netbook, by Wstryder. CC-BY.

Netbook computers have become a bright spot in the computer marketplace since they were first introduced in 2007. Essentially, a netbook is a small notebook or laptop computer designed to be lightweight and easy to carry or pack. As their name suggests, netbooks are frequently used to access the Internet and come with a built-in wireless adapter to make them easy to use with a home wireless network or Internet hot spots.

There’s no official definition of what makes up a netbook, but typically they weigh from 2 to 3 pounds (1 to 1.5 kilograms), and screens typically measure from 7 to 11 inches (18 to 28 centimeters). They’re easy to throw in a backpack or large purse. Get much larger than that, and you’re in the realm of small notebooks; much smaller than that, and you into the realm of handheld organizers or PDAs. Netbooks aren’t intended to be a person’s primary computer, but to supplement a main computer when the user is on the go, in bed or otherwise away from a regular computer.

Netbooks run on the same operating systems — almost always Microsoft Windows or some flavor of Linux — that laptop and desktop computers do and operate in the same way. So for most users the learning curve is very gentle, another reason for netbooks’ popularity.

The small size and weight come at a price, though. The first thing you might notice upon using a netbook is that it doesn’t have a CD or DVD drive. If you want to watch DVDs, listen to CDs or install software from a disc, you’ll need to attach an external drive through a USB port.

Some of the other differences:

• Because the screen is small, so is the keyboard. The keys are closer together than on a standard keyboard (netbook keyboards are typically 75 to 90 percent of full size), there’s no separate number pad, and some keys have to do double duty. For some people, the small keyboards can be hard to get used to.
• Netbooks’ small size limits the size of batteries and thus the power available. To extend battery life, netbooks typically use low-powered processors. For many tasks, such as word processing or Internet browsing, the processors have plenty of capability. But don’t expect to be editing videos, manipulating complex spreadsheets or performing other processor-intensive tasks without noticing sluggishness.
• Netbooks typically have low-end integrated video that is inadequate for playing many of today’s most popular games. Some low-end netbooks struggle to play DVD video. Internal memory (known as RAM) in some netbooks may be limited as well, making it difficult to run several programs at the same time.
• As of this writing, in order to keep retail cost down, netbooks that use Windows typically are sold with either a two-generation-old version of Windows (XP Home) or Windows 7 Starter, a version that is missing many of the features of the standard Windows 7. (Such is the case in the U.S.; Microsoft’s policies vary from country to country.) Most newer netbooks can be upgraded to a complete, current version of Windows at additional cost, however.
• Hard-drive space on netbooks is limited — don’t expect to keep your entire music or photo collection on one. Some netbooks use solid-state drives, which have almost no space for storing extra files but are shock-resistant and make it possible for the unit to boot up quickly and access information from the drive faster.

As long as you understand the limitations of netbooks before you get one, you’ll find that they are extremely versatile devices. With a good netbook, you can accomplish most computing tasks almost anywhere.